9 Alabama players entered the portal

[gamecockcat]

The center (no thank you) and another OL, along with 2 CBs, 2 DL, a QB and a TE.

The other OL is 6'-4", 318 and a sophomore. I didn't dig far enough to find out if he's an OG or an OT. Certainly, just on paper, we could use one or both CBs.

Will we be a player in the sweepstakes for any of these guys?

McLaughlin among 9 Tide players to enter portal

Less than a week after Alabama's loss to Michigan in the College Football Playoff, nine Tide players have entered the transfer portal, including starting center Seth McLaughlin.

www.espn.com

 

[502 Wildcat]

Give me all the Alabama and Georgia transfers we can get, don't care what position they play, just sign them up.

 

[Smashcat]

 

[WildcatforLife1965]

Feel bad for him. I hope he finds a new home and some redemption. He’s not the reason they lost that game. Game can be cruel at times. Alabama fans are way over the top.

 

[jlkirk]

View embedded media

Clearly holding on the last play...surprised no flag

 

[K_TIME]

The center (no thank you) and another OL, along with 2 CBs, 2 DL, a QB and a TE.

Cracking up at no thank you on center 😀. We have Jager Burton already

 

[gamecockcat]

Cracking up at no thank you on center 😀. We have Jager Burton already

Think Vandagraff would have to wear a baseball mitt on one hand if we signed that C. Geez, he just slung that pigskin all over the place (and at terminal velocity sometimes to compound the problem).

 

[gojvc]

Cracking up at no thank you on center 😀. We have Jager Burton already

Who knows, he may be really good at his blocking assignments if anyone could ever correct his deficiencies snapping the ball. There is a reason he was starting at Alabama. I bet there’s plenty of interest.

 

[satcheluk]

Who knows, he may be really good at his blocking assignments if anyone could ever correct his deficiencies snapping the ball. There is a reason he was starting at Alabama. I bet there’s plenty of interest.

Maybe he'd be better if he wasn't coached by Wolford.

 

[trueblujr2]

Maybe he'd be better if he wasn't coached by Wolford.

is Yenser an upgrade?

 

[bthaunert]

Who knows, he may be really good at his blocking assignments if anyone could ever correct his deficiencies snapping the ball. There is a reason he was starting at Alabama. I bet there’s plenty of interest.

Yep...I imagine if he struggled like that all season, he wouldn't have been there starting center. He had a bad game and everyone saw it. I don't remember it being an issue in the SEC championship game but maybe it was.

 

[LowerLevelSeatA]

Maybe he'd be better if he wasn't coached by Wolford.

Nobody wants to deal with Wolford. Loud mouth, attention seeking kinda dude was impression I got of him. Can’t imagine he treats players very well.

 

[K_TIME]

Think Vadagraff would have to wear a baseball mitt on one hand if we signed that C. Geez, he just slung that pigskin all over the place (and at terminal velocity sometimes to compound the problem).

To be real....I've got Bama fanatics that watch them like many of us do Ky....and this center snapping issue was all year long (a bad snap blew one of the few drives in our game w/Bama). He's been a grease fire all year snapping the ball.

Sounds like the year we had Bunchy Stallings bad snaps (at least we got him off of Center after 2-3 games adn moved Drake Jackson to his spot).......but Bama trotted this guy all year long and it burned them eventually.

And Eric Wolford sucks as a coach and person and deserves plenty of heat as well

 

[satcheluk]

is Yenser an upgrade?

It's a fair question and difficult to answer if you aren't at practice. Wolford is known as an ace recruiter and avg at best on field coach. Yenser seems like a below avg recruiter and I'd give him an avg+ on field with the caveat of a short data set to evaluate. The Oline was improved, though the talent level overall seems avg at best.

 

[gamecockcat]

Yep...I imagine if he struggled like that all season, he wouldn't have been there starting center. He had a bad game and everyone saw it. I don't remember it being an issue in the SEC championship game but maybe it was.

He scooted one past Milroe on 2nd down in the Auburn game that cost Bama 15+ yards on that last drive. 3rd down was the pass beyond the LOS and 4th down was the miracle. He's had issues all year. How that happens at Bama and how it's not fixed (or another player plugged in) inside of 3 games is beyond me.

It looked to me like he flung it back like a knuckleball with no spin and with pretty high velocity. If it's off even a little, extra speed is a bad thing. Plus, the QB had no clue how to handle a ball that's snapped back to him sometimes point first, sometimes sideways, sometimes wobbling, sometimes eye high, sometimes at his ankles, etc. I would've thought some extra practice like 500 extra snaps a day would have cured this problem pretty quickly. Of course, our long snapping woes in 2022 weren't fixed, either. But, should be a huge difference in a 12-15 yard snap and a 4 yard one, imo.

 

[BluegrassSportsNet]

That center isn’t worse than Jager Burton or Dylan Ray.

 

[mrschwump]

That center isn’t worse than Jager Burton or Dylan Ray.

Was Ray ever at C? I know Bowles/Burton were, not sure about Ray.

 

[BluegrassSportsNet]

Was Ray ever at C? I know Bowles/Burton were, not sure about Ray.

Could play guard. And a lot better than what we got.

 

[mrschwump]

Could play guard. And a lot better than what we got.

Dylan Ray was a very effective OG, maybe UK's best OL this year, he or M. Cox. He replaced Horsey when Horsey was injured then held onto his position when Horsey returned. He's a huge key in OL development moving forward.

 

[bigblueinsanity]

Snapping issues are unforgivable. I put the late season stuff more on the staff though. If the two can't get the snap right after the first few games, you have to make a switch. You literally cannot operate on offense without the snap being a sure thing.

If it goes on, like it did, beyond the first few games then it's on the staff because they should've made a change.

 

[3632]

Maybe he'd be better if he wasn't coached by Wolford.

I guess it could be since we blamed him when he was here although it was bad after he was gone too….but I’m doubting yenser is the guy to turn him around

 

[BluegrassSportsNet]

Dylan Ray was a very effective OG, maybe UK's best OL this year, he or M. Cox. He replaced Horsey when Horsey was injured then held onto his position when Horsey returned. He's a huge key in OL development moving forward.

Prob more so depth than a legit starter. Hope I’m wrong.

 

[mrschwump]

Prob more so depth than a legit starter. Hope I’m wrong.

Ray will be a starter unless UK significantly upgrades via portal.

 

[BluegrassSportsNet]

Ray will be a starter unless UK significantly upgrades via portal.

They need to desperately is the point. Did you watch that bowl game?

 

[satcheluk]

I guess it could be since we blamed him when he was here although it was bad after he was gone too….but I’m doubting yenser is the guy to turn him around

I'm withholding a strong take on Yenser for another year, but anyone who can't see that we are much improved on the line from last year, I suspect doesn't watch with a critical eye. We were not great, but they exceeded my expectations after last year. If we continue to improve then he's earned a check mark in the development/scheme side of his responsibilities, so we'll have to see how the recruiting aspect unfolds.

 

[Old_Red]

The center (no thank you) and another OL, along with 2 CBs, 2 DL, a QB and a TE.

The other OL is 6'-4", 318 and a sophomore. I didn't dig far enough to find out if he's an OG or an OT. Certainly, just on paper, we could use one or both CBs.

Will we be a player in the sweepstakes for any of these guys?

McLaughlin among 9 Tide players to enter portal

Less than a week after Alabama's loss to Michigan in the College Football Playoff, nine Tide players have entered the transfer portal, including starting center Seth McLaughlin.

www.espn.com

Was he a converted guard? Because he sure didn't look at all comfortable with the shotgun snaps.

 

[3632]

I'm withholding a strong take on Yenser for another year, but anyone who can't see that we are much improved on the line from last year, I suspect doesn't watch with a critical eye. We were not great, but they exceeded my expectations after last year. If we continue to improve then he's earned a check mark in the development/scheme side of his responsibilities, so we'll have to see how the recruiting aspect unfolds.

We were improved. Still not where it needs to be and certainly needs pass pro improvement above all but I don’t blame yenser for that we’ve chosen to recruit bulk over other things so that’s a recruiting choice issue to me. We also added a piece or 2 between seasons which helped. I still think Wolford is just one more on the list of easy targets to blame it all on. When he left it was him, when scang was here it was him, then we finished 98th in offense this year. I mean we’ve blamed a whole lot of people over 12 years offensively only to largely see it over and over again.

 

[FirewithFire]

In that center's defense Michigan was in his grill all night long. He was spooked and trying to get the snap off in time to hit his blocks before they swarmed his ass and sacked Milroe.

Anyway...we can't have much money left after some of the big signings we have made. I doubt we can afford any of these dudes. Now if all they want is playing time, then come rtf on down. We should have plenty of that.

 

[trueblujr2]

To be real....I've got Bama fanatics that watch them like many of us do Ky....and this center snapping issue was all year long (a bad snap blew one of the few drives in our game w/Bama). He's been a grease fire all year snapping the ball.

Sounds like the year we had Bunchy Stallings bad snaps (at least we got him off of Center after 2-3 games adn moved Drake Jackson to his spot).......but Bama trotted this guy all year long and it burned them eventually.

And Eric Wolford sucks as a coach and person and deserves plenty of heat as well

Man I miss Drake Jackson at Center. Dude was practically flawless his whole senior season. Don’t remember a single bad snap. I’m sure there were a handful of them along the way but they didn’t result in lost yards or turnovers or anything like that.

 

[mrschwump]

They need to desperately is the point. Did you watch that bowl game?

I did, saw the whole year too. Ray will be the starting LG in '24 unless UK brings in a portal guy or an existing player leapfrogs him. Either could happen.

 

[tdcat]

I did, saw the whole year too. Ray will be the starting LG in '24 unless UK brings in a portal guy or an existing player leapfrogs him. Either could happen.

Ray will be a starter unless UK significantly upgrades via portal.

If he recovers from his surgery I expect Christman to take over as a starter at OG at some point next season.

 

[mrschwump]

Hopefully Christman is 100%.

 

[yoshukai]

I'm withholding a strong take on Yenser for another year, but anyone who can't see that we are much improved on the line from last year, I suspect doesn't watch with a critical eye. We were not great, but they exceeded my expectations after last year. If we continue to improve then he's earned a check mark in the development/scheme side of his responsibilities, so we'll have to see how the recruiting aspect unfolds.

Same here

 

[The-Hack]

That center isn’t worse than Jager Burton or Dylan Ray.

Miss.

 

[sluggercatfan]

Man I miss Drake Jackson at Center. Dude was practically flawless his whole senior season. Don’t remember a single bad snap. I’m sure there were a handful of them along the way but they didn’t result in lost yards or turnovers or anything like that.

4 years...

 

[K_TIME]

Man I miss Drake Jackson at Center. Dude was practically flawless his whole senior season. Don’t remember a single bad snap. I’m sure there were a handful of them along the way but they didn’t result in lost yards or turnovers or anything like that.

To be fair …Jon Toth to Drake Jackson to Fortner for a year….UK had years of not just barely any bad snaps….but they werent low, high, etc…just like hitting a Wr in stride on a pass../the snaps allows the wildcat formation/qb run plays on short yardage to hit in crucial situations

The two years of Cox and Burton have seen bad snaps but also as many st the Qb feet etc and it just gets the Qb off rhythm and blows up drives

 

[Tf2217]

To be fair …Jon Toth to Drake Jackson to Fortner for a year….UK had years of not just barely any bad snaps….but they werent low, high, etc…just like hitting a Wr in stride on a pass../the snaps allows the wildcat formation/qb run plays on short yardage to hit in crucial situations

The two years of Cox and Burton have seen bad snaps but also as many st the Qb feet etc and it just gets the Qb off rhythm and blows up drives

Yes we take things like that for granted easily. That was a all-star center crew that played the position perfectly. Easy to forget how hard a great center is to have until you don't have one.

 

[satcheluk]

We were improved. Still not where it needs to be and certainly needs pass pro improvement above all but I don’t blame yenser for that we’ve chosen to recruit bulk over other things so that’s a recruiting choice issue to me. We also added a piece or 2 between seasons which helped. I still think Wolford is just one more on the list of easy targets to blame it all on. When he left it was him, when scang was here it was him, then we finished 98th in offense this year. I mean we’ve blamed a whole lot of people over 12 years offensively only to largely see it over and over again.

Wolford is an easy target because of what he did. Wolford did damage because he rotated no one. He coached like he was going to be here one year and it set back the line room's development a few years.

 

[mrschwump]

Man I miss Drake Jackson at Center. Dude was practically flawless his whole senior season. Don’t remember a single bad snap. I’m sure there were a handful of them along the way but they didn’t result in lost yards or turnovers or anything like that.

Re Drake Jackson....think back to 2019. UK had numerous games, or at least portions of games, played in just brutal weather. Rain, steady/heavy, wind, cold and Drake Jackson had not one, not one, nary a one....bad snap. It was really amazing to watch.

 

[Bluegrass79]

Hey if Alabama taking our offensive line coach caused them to be weaker then I'm all for that shit!!
Job well done.

We will gladly take all eight transfers as they're probably higher rated coming out of high school than all of our players ...... Just be real.
Alabama's whole team is four and five star.
Stoops is a good player developer. Give him an Alabama roster he's going to win imo